Marrakech in five days: excursions, tours and visits to enjoy the city

If you are going to stay about 5 days and want to know what to see and what to do in Marrakech, the tour I have prepared will help you to arrive with much of your homework done. Marrakech, with more than 1.5 million inhabitants, is part of the Imperial Cities of Morocco along with Fez, Meknes and Rabat. Strolling through it offers an unparalleled experience: get lost in the maze of its streets, visit the desert or experience the atmosphere of the Jamaa el Fna square. Find out what to do during these 5 days!

Arriving in Marrakech is for many travelers a considerable culture shock. Many of them feel lost by the crowds of its medina and a little uneasy about the way some merchants sell. Therefore, it never hurts to consult some safety tips on your trip to Marrakech and book a guided tour of Marrakech, at least on the first day. For the first day you can start your route by making these stops:

• Jamaa El Fna square: to be able to contemplate it in all its splendor, the place should be visited both in the morning and in the afternoon-evening, as the atmosphere changes noticeably. A tip for traveling to Morocco is to open your mind and not be intimidated by the locals.
• A stop at the Koutoubia Mosque: Islam marks much of **Morocco'**s culture, so it is not surprising the proliferation of mosques in cities like Marrakech. The interior of the mosque cannot be visited by non-Muslims, but the exterior alone is worth it. Hiring any guided tour of Marrakech you can know in detail everything about them.
• Visit the Dar Si Said Museum: it contains an interesting collection of carpets, furniture, textiles and other objects from the Berber culture. Unfortunately, the information inside the museum is somewhat deficient, so if you are very interested in the subject it is essential to have a guide.

Majorelle Gardens

To follow your route I suggest you to book a guided tour of the Majorelle Gardens, a sign of identity of Marrakech. The 9,000 square meters are surrounded by red walls and full of palm trees, plants, cacti and ponds that exude peace and tranquility. And later you can choose one of these options for dinner:

• Enjoy the sunset on a terrace: to spend the late afternoon and even have dinner if you wish, the best activity to do in Marrakech is to choose a terrace near Jamaa el Fna to enjoy the sunset. Among the most popular places are L'Adresse Jemaa Al Fna, La Pergola Jazz Bar (where they sell beer) or Le Salama.
• Dinner at Jamaa el Fna: although you can dine on one of the terraces mentioned above, to end this first day of introduction to Marrakech the most classic is to dare with the stalls that are installed in Jamaa el Fna with Moroccan food dishes. Dare to wander among these stalls and choose one to have dinner or even book a gastronomic tour to try all the typical dishes.

Marrakech is a great base for a number of organized excursions. Some will allow you to see the desert of Marrakech or the Atlas Mountains, while others can be booked to take you to stunning locations such as Essaouira.

For this third day I suggest you book a two-day excursion to the desert of Zagora, visit Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate and book a night in a Berber camp in the desert of Marrakech.

• Ait Ben Haddou: at the gates of the desert awaits the spectacular ksar of Ait Ben Haddou. A ksar is a type of fortified village that the Berbers built in the desert, especially on the cliffs. Do not be surprised if you recognize its silhouette, as this place has been the scene of numerous films (The Mummy, Gladiator or Lawrence of Arabia, among others) and television series such as Game of Thrones.
• Ouarzazate and Kasbah Taourirt: the name of the city comes from an Arabic expression meaning "without noise" and gives us a good idea of what life was like in the middle of the desert. You can book an excursion to Ouarzazate, which, unlike Ait Ben Haddou, tends to receive fewer tourists, which has allowed it to maintain a more authentic atmosphere.
• Zagora and accommodation in the Berber camp: from Ouarzazate you usually take a camel ride to reach the camp where you spend the night. Once in the camp, a traditional Berber dinner is held after watching the sunset. My advice is to get up early to also see the sunrise in the desert before enjoying breakfast and start your way back to Marrakech.

The third day of the trip starts with breakfast at the Berber camp and the return to Marrakech. Normally, you don't arrive too late in the city, but my advice is to rest for a few hours before getting back on the road. For this day I propose:

• Tour the modern city of Gueliz: when the French took over the protectorate of Morocco they brought with them the idea of modernizing part of the infrastructure in the image and likeness of European cities. In Marrakech they built the Gueliz district to try to achieve this goal. Here you will find some of the best restaurants in Marrakech.
• And then, relax in a hammam...: in Marrakech you can choose between several of these traditional baths. The traditional bath begins with the application of steam, sauna-style, to cleanse the body and relax the mind.

After three days, chances are that you have already got used to the rhythm of the city and the way of moving around. If not, remember that booking a guided tour of Marrakech will free you from any worries when it comes to booking visits to the next two destinations: the Medina of Marrakech and the souks. In addition, organized tours usually also include visits to:

• The Saadid tombs via Bab Agnaou: the Saadid tombs. it was a place that was forgotten until 1917, when it was rediscovered and opened to visitors.
• The remains of the El Badi Palace: Sultan Al Mansur, the same one buried in the Saadid tombs, was responsible for the construction of this palace at the end of the 16th century. At the time, the El Badi Palace was one of the most impressive in the world.

Ben Youssef Madrasa

And I recommend that you continue your tour of the medina to reach the Medersa (or Madrasa) Ben Youssef, ie a religious college specializing in the study of Islam. On the way you should not miss the Place des Ferblantiers, as well as many interesting places that will appear along the way.

• You can make a stop for lunch in this area: I recommend several places, all quite close to the madrasa you just visited: the Kafe Merstan, the Naima Couscous or the Bigua Cafe. You also have the option to book your gastronomic tour of Marrakech.
• And how about spending the afternoon in the souk: the souk of Marrakech is divided into several sections depending on the type of product. In them you will find everything. A good idea is to hire a specific tour of the souks of Marrakech.
• And, to rest from this exhausting experience and end the day, I recommend you make a stop at the so-called Secret Garden.

Normally, the route of the last day is delimited by the departure time of your flight. In this article on how to get from the airport to Marrakech you have information if you need it. The itinerary for this day includes the following:

• Visit The Palm Grove: more than 100,000 palm trees, a large number of plantations and as many fruit trees make this area located about 10 kilometers from Marrakech a place to relax. There are several ways to get to know the area but the best is to book your excursion to the palm grove.
• Have a picnic in the Menara gardens: when returning from the Palm Grove have a picnic in these gardens of ponds and olive trees, they are a popular destination for locals to sit in the shade and eat something, especially in summer in Marrakech when the heat presses. It will be a perfect plan if you travel with children to Marrakech.

Mellah, the Jewish quarter of Marrakech

And, as the last walk of the trip we suggest you to go through one of its most historic neighborhoods, the Mellah. Its construction is due to the Spanish and Portuguese Jews who were expelled from their countries in the sixteenth century. When they returned to Marrakech, they brought their customs and religion with them. You can make the last purchases, as prices are cheaper than in the medina and there are usually fewer people. Among all the attractions of the neighborhood there are two that you can not miss: the synagogue and the Jewish cemetery.

Final dinner with a show

And finally, if you have the immense luck that your plane does not leave until the next morning, the last dinner in the city can be done in a restaurant that includes a belly dance show. My advice is to ask your hotel or one of your guides which restaurants are the most suitable, trying to avoid the most touristy ones.